(NewsNation) — High-tech e-cigarettes featuring built-in games, internet connectivity and fun, fruity flavors are a recipe for disaster among America’s youth, experts warn.
These so-called “smart vapes” are often illegally made and distributed to minors. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has banned flavored vaping products, but that hasn’t stopped the brightly-colored, “youth-appealing” products from making it into the United States.
“In an attempt to evade duties and detection, many of these unauthorized e-cigarettes were intentionally mis-declared as various items such as toys or shoes and listed with incorrect values,” the FDA said in a 2023 press release.
An “Industry Watch” research paper published in the journal Tobacco Control says the tech is “user-friendly, attractive to youth and may couple nicotine addiction with gaming disorders.”
“Some emerging ECs also have features found in smart devices (phones, tablets and watches), such as HD touchscreens, photo wallpapers, customisable displays, ‘find my device’, bluetooth, speakers, wireless charging and voice recognition,” the paper adds.
The e-cigarettes cost roughly the same as a traditional vapes and are available for purchase online, making them accessible to younger users.
Vaping is wildly popular among United States minors, with 1.63 million students reportedly using the devices in 2024, the CDC reports. A majority are in high school, 1.21 million, but another 400,000 are only middle schoolers.
The nation’s youngest nicotine users are already reporting trouble with addiction, with nearly 64% of students vaping in 2020 saying they wanted to quit and 67% attempting to drop the habit.
And this newer, shinier e-cigarette style could only exacerbate the problem, according to New York Association of Convenience Stores President Alison Ritchie.
“Banned candy flavors melded with ‘Candy Crush’-type video games is a predatory recipe to get teens hooked,” Ritchie told the New York Post.